Shadow's Return
by SandwichGuy
Summary: Shadow has died...or has he? Sonic x Chris Brotherly and Shadow x Chris Brotherly (Not yaoi!)


I don't own any characters. Life is cruel.

This takes place just after Shadow "died" while saving the Earth with Sonic on the ARC. Sonic will be 19 and Chris will be 9.

The ARC has stopped falling. And Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, Tanaka, and Chris wait for Sonic and Shadow. Suddenly, the door opens up. Sonic is there, but Shadow is not. Chris walks up to Sonic and looks up at him. "Where's Shadow?" The boy asked, worried. Sonic looks down at him and shakes his head. That's when everyone realizes.

Shadow the Hedgehog..._is dead._

Sonic hands the young boy something. It's one of Shadow's rings. The boy takes it, and holds it to his chest in disbelief. "You know, maybe Robotnik wanted Shadow to stop his crazy plan all along." Rouge says. "We'll never know. But in the end, Shadow sacrificed everything to save us all." Sonic says in response.

Chris's eyes begin to tear up, and he begins to cry silently, still holding the ring. Sonic notices this, and picks Chris up and holds him tightly, rubbing his back in smooth, slow circles. Something that Sonic has done for him ever since he was little. He then mutters in his best caring big brother voice "It's ok. It's ok. Let's go home." Tails tells them that rockets ready, and it's time to get home. Sonic carries Chris out of the room and tells him "Don't worry buddy, I'll stay here as long as you need me." He turns around and thinks "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."

The rocket ride home is very quiet. Everyone is sad and depressed about Shadow. Chris is the worst affected by it. Tails and Tanaka are piloting the rocket. Sonic was in a seat with Chris in his lap. He held the small boy close to him, tucking Chris's head under his chin. Chris was crying silently into Sonic's chest. Sonic stroked the boy's hair and muttered comforting words into his ear in a soft, caring voice. He had never seen Chris so sad.

When they got home, Chris had fallen asleep. Sonic shook him gently to wake him up. "Hey buddy, we're home." Sonic still held the boy. It was getting late now, it was about 9 pm. Sonic took him into the house, and Ella made Chris dinner. He was being really quiet. He hardly spoke at all. "Sonic, what happened to Chris up there?" Chuck asked. "Well, he managed to convince Shadow to fight to save the world. And Shadow ended up dying. It must have been traumatizing. He cried the whole way home until he fell asleep."

Over the next few hours, Chris was in his room, crying softly. Sonic stayed with him, holding him tightly and rocking him. Chris cried for house. Eventually falling asleep. Sonic didn't move him though, he allowed Chris to sleep in his arms. Sonic knew he would have to make Chris feel better somehow.

At one point in the night, Chris appeared to have moved away from Sonic's arms in the night. He was about to move back when he saw something. It couldn't be Sonic, was beside him, sleeping. He then noticed that the a few of his spines were pointed upward. The only hedgehog that had spines like that was...

_Shadow!_

But it couldn't be him, he's dead! Gone! There's no WAY it can be him! Chris asked silently "Who's there?" The creature turned around and walked up to him. He was smiling. Chris then saw red streaks on him. Could it be Shadow? No, he must be dreaming. "Hey, Chris." He said. Chris looked and realized it. It IS Shadow! "S-Shadow?" Chris asked. "But...Sonic said you were-" "Dead? Well, I'm not. I woke up as I was falling and used Chaos Control to get to the ground." Shadow said. Chris then threw his arms around Shadow in a hug, which Shadow returned.

Then, Sonic woke up. "Chris, who's tha-" Sonic stopped, stunned about what he saw. Chris and Shadow hugging. "Shadow? How did you survive?" Sonic asked. "I used Chaos Control to get to the ground after waking up." Shadow pulled back from the hug. Chris was now happier than ever. "This...this is a dream isn't it?" Chris asked. Shadow than took his hand. "Does that feel real?" Shadow asked. Chris looked towards Sonic. He nodded, realizing it was, indeed, real.

Chris then asked Shadow "Are you gonna stay here?" "I'm afraid I can't. The military is looking for me now that they know I did those things. And Sonic, I'm sorry. For everything." Shadow said. "Shadow, you didn't know. It's fine." Sonic said. Shadow held out his hand, and Sonic shook it. He then turned to Chris. "I'm so sorry Chris. I shouldn't have treated like how I did on the ARC. I'm also so sorry that I have to go." Shadow said. Chris began crying again. "Oh no. Please don't cry Chris." Shadow said gently. Chris buried his face in Shadow's chest fur. Sonic put a hand on his shoulder.

Shadow then thought back to what he did on the ARC when Maria cried. He would hug her tightly and tuck her head under his chin, and stroke her hair. So he did that with Chris. "Shh...it's ok...I'll be right here with you. Even if you can't see me." He said. He got up and walked to the balcony. "I'll try to find a time to come back. This won't be the last time you see me Chris. I promise. Goodbye." Shadow said, as he turned away and left. Sonic then hugged Chris tightly and began rocking him.

"Sonic?" Chris asked, through his tears. "What is it kiddo?" Sonic asked gently. "Will you ever leave me?" Chris asked. Sonic had been here for 5 years, and it was already confirmed that they will never get home. "No Chris. Never." He said. Chris then turned into Sonic's chest as he pulled the covers over them. The two then fell asleep with Chris in Sonic's arms.


End file.
